People receive first aid after a car plowed into a crowd of protesters in Charlottesville, Va.

(Paul J. Richards/Agence France-Presse)

Warning: The following videos are graphic and contain explicit language.

The man suspected of plowing through a group of counterprotesters at a white supremacist rally in Virginia on Saturday afternoon, killing a 32-year-old woman and injuring 19 is facing a murder charge, officials said. FBI and federal prosecutors announced Saturday night that a civil rights investigation has been opened involving the crash.

James Alex Fields Jr., 20, of Maumee, Ohio is being held on suspicion of second-degree murder, malicious wounding and failure to stop in an accident that resulted in death, according to Col. Martin Kumer, superintendent of the Albermarle-Charlottesville County Regional Jail.

This photo provided by the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail shows James Alex Fields Jr., who was charged with second-degree murder and other counts after authorities say he rammed his car into a crowd of protesters Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017, in Charlottesville, Va., where a white supremacist rally took place. (Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail via AP)

(AP)

Bodies flew through the air as the vehicle sped through a crowded street in Charlottesville Saturday morning. City officials estimated that at least 15 other injuries were associated with the rally.

Samantha Bloom, of Ohio, who identified herself as the mother of Fields confirmed details about her son's car and his trip to Virginia, saying she received a text from him last week that said he'd gotten some time off from work and was going to a rally.

She said her son hadn't given her any details about the rally but that she told him "to be careful" and to peaceful.

Bloom became visibly upset as she learned that dozens of people were injured during a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville.

People have been laying down flowers on 4th st between Main and Water, where yesterday's attack took place pic.twitter.com/E8vaRkZi9t

Heather Heyer, 32, of Charlottesville died of her injuries from the car that plowed into a crowd of protesters as they crossed a road downtown.

"I am heartbroken that a life has been lost here," Mayor Mike Signer tweeted. "I urge all people of good will — go home."

Adding to the turmoil, the Federal Aviation Administration said late Saturday that two state police officers were killed when their police helicopter crashed about 7 miles southwest of Charlottesville. Officials identified the pilot as Berke M.M. Bates of Quinton, Va. and the passenger as H. Jay Cullen of Midlothian, Va. Authorities say the crash is linked to the violent rally. The officers were traveling in the helicopter "assisting public safety resources with the ongoing situation in Charlottesville," a spokesperson for state police told ABC News.

A 20-year-old Houston woman was among those injured in the car crash. Natalie Romero suffered a fractured skull, busted lip and is in pain, she says while on the phone with her mother in a KHOU-TV video.

State police released the names of three others who were arrested Saturday. Troy Dunigan, 21, of Chattanooga, Tenn., was charged with disorderly conduct. Jacob L. Smith, 21, of Louisa, Va., was charged with misdemeanor assault and battery. James M. O'Brien, 44, of Gainesville, Fla., was charged with carrying a concealed handgun.

Several hours before the car crash, the governor declared a state of emergency as a protest of a plan to remove a statue of a Confederate general turned violent, leaving several people injured and threatening to plunge the area into chaos.

Authorities are treating the incident as "criminal homicide," according to Charlottesville Police Chief Al Thomas. The FBI announced late Saturday that the department has opened a civil rights investigation into the car attack.

Home to the University of Virginia, Charlottesville has been bracing for what feels like an invasion of so-called "alt-right" demonstrators, here for what they are calling a "Unite the Right" rally.

President Donald Trump briefly spoke about the violence by calling for America to come together. He denounced bigotry, but did not specifically condemn white supremacy.

"We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence, on many sides," Trump said.

He then left without taking any questions.

People fly into the air as a vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. The group was holding the rally to protest plans by to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Several hundred protesters were marching in a long line when the car drove into a group of them.

(Ryan M. Kelly/The Daily Progress)

A counter demonstrator uses a lighted spray can against a white nationalist demonstrator at the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Gov. Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency and police dressed in riot gear ordered people to disperse after chaotic violent clashes between white nationalists and counter protestors. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

(Steve Helber/AP)

White nationalist demonstrators use shields as they clash with counter demonstrators at the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Hundreds of people chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday after violence erupted at a white nationalist rally in Virginia. At least one person was arrested. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

(Steve Helber/AP)

People receive first-aid after a car accident ran into a crowd of protesters in Charlottesville, VA on August 12, 2017.
A picturesque Virginia city braced Saturday for a flood of white nationalist demonstrators as well as counter-protesters, declaring a local emergency as law enforcement attempted to quell early violent clashes.
/ AFP PHOTO / PAUL J. RICHARDSPAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images

(PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - AUGUST 12: In this handout provided by Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, James Alex Fields Jr. of Maumee, Ohio poses for a mugshot after he allegedly drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters killing one and injuring 35 on August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Fields faces charges of second-degree murder, malicious woundings and leaving the scene of an accident. The incident followed the shutdown of the 'Unite the Right' rally by police after white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' and counter-protesters clashed near Lee Park, where a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee is slated to be removed. (Photo by Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail via Getty Images)

(Handout/Getty Images)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - AUGUST 12: White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the "alt-right" clash with counter-protesters in the street after the "Unite the Right" rally was delcared a unlawful gathering by Virginia State Police August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. After clashes with anti-fascist protesters and police the rally was declared an unlawful gathering and people were forced out of Lee Park, where a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee is slated to be removed. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - AUGUST 12: White nationalist Richard Spencer (C) and his supporters clash with Virginia State Police in Lee Park after the "Unite the Right" rally was declared an unlawful gathering August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the "alt-right" clashed with anti-fascist protesters and police as they attempted to hold a rally in Lee Park, where a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee is slated to be removed. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) *** BESTPIX ***

(Chip Somodevilla)

People receive first-aid after a car accident ran into a crowd of protesters in Charlottesville, VA on August 12, 2017.
A picturesque Virginia city braced Saturday for a flood of white nationalist demonstrators as well as counter-protesters, declaring a local emergency as law enforcement attempted to quell early violent clashes.
/ AFP PHOTO / PAUL J. RICHARDSPAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images

(PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)

People receive first-aid after a car accident ran into a crowd of protesters in Charlottesville, VA on August 12, 2017.
A vehicle plowed into a crowd of people Saturday at a Virginia rally where violence erupted between white nationalist demonstrators and counter-protesters, witnesses said, causing an unclear number of injuries. / AFP PHOTO / PAUL J. RICHARDSPAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images

(PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)

A woman is received first-aid after a car accident ran into a crowd of protesters in Charlottesville, VA on August 12, 2017.
A picturesque Virginia city braced Saturday for a flood of white nationalist demonstrators as well as counter-protesters, declaring a local emergency as law enforcement attempted to quell early violent clashes.
/ AFP PHOTO / PAUL J. RICHARDSPAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images

(PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)

A white nationalist demonstrator with a helmet and shield walks into Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Hundreds of people chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday after violence erupted at a white nationalist rally in Virginia. At least one person was arrested. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

(Steve Helber/AP)

A woman is received first-aid after a car accident ran into a crowd of protesters in Charlottesville, VA on August 12, 2017.
A picturesque Virginia city braced Saturday for a flood of white nationalist demonstrators as well as counter-protesters, declaring a local emergency as law enforcement attempted to quell early violent clashes.
/ AFP PHOTO / PAUL J. RICHARDSPAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images

People receive first-aid after a car accident ran into a crowd of protesters in Charlottesville, VA on August 12, 2017.
A picturesque Virginia city braced Saturday for a flood of white nationalist demonstrators as well as counter-protesters, declaring a local emergency as law enforcement attempted to quell early violent clashes.
/ AFP PHOTO / PAUL J. RICHARDSPAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images

(PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - AUGUST 12: A Virginia State Police officer in riot gear keeps watch from the top of an armored vehicle after car plowed through a crowd of counter-demonstrators marching through the downtown shopping district August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The care plowed through the crowed following the shutdown of the Unite the Right rally by police after white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the "alt-right" and counter-protesters clashed near Lee Park, where a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee is slated to be removed. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

In this twitter hand-out photo courtesy the Virginia State Police Arrests are being made following declaration of unlawful assembly at Emancipation Park in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12, 2017.
A picturesque Virginia city braced Saturday for a flood of white nationalist demonstrators as well as counter-protesters, declaring a local emergency as law enforcement attempted to quell early violent clashes.

(VIRGINIA STATE POLICE/AFP/Getty Images)

Colleen Cook, 26, holds a sign as hundreds of people are facing off in Charlottesville, Va., ahead of a white nationalist rally planned in the Virginia city's downtown, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Cook, a teacher who attended UVA, said she sent her black son out of town for the weekend. "This isn't how he should have to grow up," she said.

(Sarah Rankin/AP)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - AUGUST 12: White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the "alt-right" are forced out of Lee Park after the "Unite the Right" rally was declared an unlawful gathering August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. After clashes with anti-fascist protesters and police the rally was declared an unlawful gathering and people were forced out of Lee Park, where a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee is slated to be removed. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - AUGUST 12: An anti-fascist counter-protester hurls a newspaper box toward white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the "alt-right" during the "Unite the Right" rally outside Lee Park August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. After clashes with anti-fascist protesters and police the rally was declared an unlawful gathering and people were forced out of Lee Park, where a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee is slated to be removed. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - AUGUST 12: Rescue workers move victims on stretchers after car plowed through a crowd of counter-demonstrators marching through the downtown shopping district August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The car plowed through the crowed following the shutdown of the "Unite the Right" rally by police after white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the "alt-right" and counter-protesters clashed near Lee Park, where a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee is slated to be removed. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) *** BESTPIX ***

(Chip Somodevilla)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - AUGUST 12: Members of the Virginia National Guard wear body armor and carry riot shields while standing guard on the pedestrian mall following violence at the United the Right rally August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Gov. Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency after white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the "alt-right" violently clashed with anti-facist and Black Lives Matter counter-demonstrators at Emancipation Park. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - AUGUST 12: White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the "alt-right" clash with counter-protesters as they enter Lee Park during the "Unite the Right" rally August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. After clashes with anti-fascist protesters and police the rally was declared an unlawful gathering and people were forced out of Lee Park, where a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee is slated to be removed. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) *** BESTPIX ***

(Chip Somodevilla)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - AUGUST 12: Rescue workers and volunteer medics tend to people who were injured when a car plowed through a crowd of anti-facist counter-demonstrators marching through the downtown shopping district August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The car plowed through the crowed following the shutdown of the "Unite the Right" rally by police after white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the "alt-right" and counter-protesters clashed near Lee Park, where a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee is slated to be removed. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - AUGUST 12: Rescue workers and volunteers help get victims to the hospital after a car plowed through a crowd of counter-demonstrators marching through the downtown shopping district August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The car plowed through the crowed following the shutdown of the "Unite the Right" rally by police after white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the "alt-right" and counter-protesters clashed near Lee Park, where a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee is slated to be removed. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - AUGUST 12: Rescue workers move victims on stretchers after car plowed through a crowd of counter-demonstrators marching through the downtown shopping district August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The car plowed through the crowed following the shutdown of the "Unite the Right" rally by police after white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the "alt-right" and counter-protesters clashed near Lee Park, where a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee is slated to be removed. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - AUGUST 12: Protesters use their banners to block the view of victims injured when a car plowed through a crowd of demonstrators marching through the downtown shopping district August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The car plowed through the crowed following the shutdown of the "Unite the Right" rally by police after white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the "alt-right" and counter-protesters clashed near Lee Park, where a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee is slated to be removed. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

A white nationalist demonstrator walks into Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Hundreds of people chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday after violence erupted at a white nationalist rally in Virginia. At least one person was arrested. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - AUGUST 12: Nicole Jones of Staunton, Virginia weeps while attending a vigil for those who were injured and died when a car plowed into a crowd of anti-fascist counter-demonstrators marching near a downtown shopping area August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The car allegedly plowed through a crowd, and at least one person has died from the incident, following the shutdown of the 'Unite the Right' rally by police after white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' and counter-protesters clashed near Lee Park, where a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee is slated to be removed. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

(Win McNamee/Getty Images)

A white nationalist demonstrator, bloodied after a clash with a counter demonstrator, talks on the radio receiver at the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Gov. Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency and police dressed in riot gear ordered people to disperse after chaotic violent clashes between white nationalists and counter protestors. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - AUGUST 12: A man tends a makeshift candlelight vigil for those who died and were injured when a car plowed into a crowd of anti-fascist counter-demonstrators marching near a downtown shopping area August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The car allegedly plowed through a crowd, and at least one person has died from the incident, following the shutdown of the 'Unite the Right' rally by police after white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' and counter-protesters clashed near Lee Park, where a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee is slated to be removed. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

(Win McNamee/Getty Images)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - AUGUST 12: A man tends a makeshift candlelight vigil for those who died and were injured when a car plowed into a crowd of anti-fascist counter-demonstrators marching near a downtown shopping area August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The car allegedly plowed through a crowd, and at least one person has died from the incident, following the shutdown of the 'Unite the Right' rally by police after white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' and counter-protesters clashed near Lee Park, where a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee is slated to be removed. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

(Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Right-wing blogger Jason Kessler had called for what he termed a "pro-white" rally to protest the city's decision to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a downtown park.

Protesters clashed in the historic college town as white supremacists — some waving Confederate flags, chanting Nazi-era slogans, wearing helmets and carrying shields — converged on the statue in Emancipation Park and the surrounding streets. The protest was the apparent culmination of more than a year of debate and division over the fate of the statue.

Colleen Cook, 26, stood on a curb shouting at the rally attendees to go home. Cook, a teacher who attended the University of Virginia, said she sent her son, who is black, out of town for the weekend.

"This isn't how he should have to grow up," she said.

Outside the park, a huge mass of counterprotesters grew, shouting phrases like "Nazi scum." By 11:35 a.m., police had retreated, the barricades came down and street fights broke out. People were seen clubbing one another in the streets. Pepper spray filled the air as police attempted to contain the situation.

By 11 a.m., when the city declared the state of emergency, several people had been injured, including a University of Virginia police officer. It was unclear if the injuries were serious. The governor followed with his own declaration an hour later.

"The acts and rhetoric in #Charlottesville over past 24 hours are unacceptable & must stop," McAuliffe said on Twitter. "A right to speech is not a right to violence."

We ALL must be united & condemn all that hate stands for. There is no place for this kind of violence in America. Lets come together as one!

On Friday night, hundreds of white nationalists, carrying lit torches, marched on the picturesque grounds of the university, founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson.

University officials said one person was arrested and charged Friday night with assault and disorderly conduct, and several others were injured. Among those hurt was a university police officer injured while making the arrest, the school said in a statement.